Aeolus: ESA satellite to be steered back to Earth for first time

In a re-entry that's the first of its kind, a satellite named Aeolus is set to return to Earth in the next few weeks - steered and guided by space operators. The European Space Agency's (ESA) satellite has been orbiting for nearly five years but now its mission is complete. Normally satellites remain in space as 'junk' or naturally fall back down to Earth. If they're small they catch fire and fall apart, but Aeolus is a bigger satellite - the size of a small car. More

(Source: BBC News - Jul 17)